Elon Musk finally got the answer he wanted: he will be able to receive $56 billion for his position as boss of Tesla. The sum, which could have been blocked by certain shareholders, is absolutely enormous: no other boss in the world receives so much.
56 billion dollars: this is the remuneration that Elon Musk will be able to receive as boss of Tesla. This is an absolutely disproportionate sum, slightly higher than Nicaragua’s GDP in 2024, according to IMF forecasts. This exaggerated salary was however approved by a shareholder vote on the evening of June 13, 2024, and it is supposed to reward the boss for the increase in Tesla’s valuation since 2018.
Even though a majority of shareholders voted in favor of the compensation plan, it remains in the throat of many people. According to Le Monde, certain institutional investors, such as the California teachers’ pension fund and the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, would have opposed Elon Musk’s remuneration.
It must be said that a boss has never received — publicly — such a sum as reward for his actions, whether in the automobile or tech sectors. In order to get an idea of the difference in remuneration between Elon Musk and the rest of the leaders, Numerama decided to make a comparison, and the figures are dizzying.
Other bosses are not paid as well
Information on the remuneration of top bosses is often confidential, even if in some cases it is shared. It remains difficult to establish an exact ranking, but from the figures that Numerama was able to find, it appears that Elon Musk is much more paid than other bosses of large companies, and by a long way.
Above all, the 56 billion dollars only correspond to part of his remuneration: the sum only concerns his actions as CEO of Tesla, but Elon Musk is also the director of SpaceX, Neuralink, ), and for several months, xAI. Other activities which further enrich the businessman.
In comparison, the 2nd highest paid business leader in the world after Elon Musk would be Robert Scaringe, another electric car specialist. Scaringe, who is the CEO of Rivian Automobiles, one of Tesla’s rivals, would have been paid $2 billion in 2023, according to Business Chief.
Next door, Carlos Tavares, another big name in the automobile sector, is “almost” poor. The general director of the Stellantis automobile group, which brings together 15 brands including Citroën, Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep and Masserati, would not have received “ that » 36.5 million euros in 2023. According to The Conversation, this sum corresponded to “ a fixed salary of 2 million euros, a performance bonus of 11.4 million, share bonuses of 13 million, as well as an exceptional bonus of 10 million euros linked to the transformation of the group. »
Other car manufacturer CEOs would fare even “worse”. According to the BBC, Mary Barra, the president of General Motors, would have earned $29 million in 2022, and Ford director Jim Farley, $21 million.
To find salaries slightly closer to that of Elon Musk, you have to get out of the car sector, and instead immerse yourself in the world of tech and finance. In 2022, Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone, was entitled to a total compensation of $253 million. Just behind him, Sundar Pichai, the boss of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, received $226 million: a base salary of $2 million, supplemented by more than $218 million in shares. It would then be Stephen Scherr, the boss of Hertz, the car rental company, who would complete the podium with an income of $182 million in 2022.
And what about Bernard Arnault, the boss of LVMH and the richest man in the world, ahead of Elon Musk? Surprisingly, the multi-billionaire, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at 233 billion dollars, would not be paid “that much”, compared to other big bosses. According to France Info, “ all inclusive, – variable and fixed part – Bernard Arnault’s remuneration amounts to just over three million euros “.
If these sums already seem crazy, they remain laughable compared to what Elon Musk managed to obtain. 56 billion dollars is the possibility of buying again a company like Twitter, which the boss acquired in 2022 and has since renamed X. It is also 56 billion more in the pocket of a man who does not does not hesitate to feed its social network with conspiracy theories and transphobic speeches, which few people still dare to confront.
Subscribe to Numerama on Google News so you don’t miss any news!